[On a blank screen, typography appears on screen reading, “Voting Rights Through Time”. The text floats upwards, and out of frame.]
How many Canadians do you think had the right to vote in 1867?
[Typography appears on screen, reading “How many Canadians do you think had the right to vote in 1867?, matching the timing of the voiceover. The frame starts to move downwards, and the text is now out of frame.]
11% of the population.
[A circle graphic appears. In the middle of the circle, a variety of graphic icons representing people appear. These icons represent the population of Canada. A number appears in the frame - it begins at 0% and quickly increases in number until it reaches 11%. When the number reaches 11%, a small portion of the people icons are highlighted to represent the small percentage of the population who could vote at the time. The graphic smoothly moves upwards on screen, disappearing from the frame.]
Who could vote?
[Typography appears on screen, reading “Who could vote? The scene moves downwards to a dark background, and the typography has now risen out of frame.]
Men, who were at least 21 years old, and owned property.
[An icon representing men appears in the scene. Typography quickly appears beside the icon, reading “at least 21 years old”. To the right of the icon and typography, a house icon appears. Inside of the house icon there is typography reading, “owned property”.]
That left everyone else without voting rights.
[The screen swipes to the left. As it transitions to a blank screen, new text appears reading, “Who could not vote?”. The scene transitions to a new dark background.]
Men who didn’t own property, women, and anyone under 21 years old.
[A house icon appears on the right side of the screen, the house is crossed out with text underneath reading “men who didn’t own property”. In the centre of the screen, an icon of a woman appears with text underneath that reads “women”. On the left side of the screen, we see typography reading, “anyone under 21”.]
But, Canada has changed a lot since 1867.
[The video transitions to a new scene, showing a clock in the centre of the frame. The hands on the clock are moving, showing that time is passing by.]
Who has the right to vote today?
[The clock moves upwards on screen, disappearing from the frame. Typography appears in frame reading, “who has the right to vote today?” The frame starts to move downwards, and the text is now out of frame.]
About 75% of today’s population.
[A circle graphic appears. In the middle of the circle, a variety of graphic icons representing people appear. These icons represent the population of Canada. A number appears in the frame - it begins at 0% and quickly increases in number until it reaches 75%. When the number reaches 75%, a large portion of the people icons are highlighted to represent the large percentage of the population who can currently vote. The graphic smoothly disappears from the frame.]
All Canadian citizens over 18 years old have the right to vote in Canada.
[A new dark background appears, and we see 6 people icons representing Canadian Citizens at the top of the frame. Typography appears underneath reading “all Canadian Citizens at least 18 years old”.]
Who doesn’t have the right to vote today?
[A blank scene appears, and typography animates in that reads, “Who doesn’t have the right to vote today?” The scene transitions to a new dark background.]
Anyone under 18, residents who are not Canadian citizens, and the Chief Electoral officer of Canada.
[Typography appears on the right side of the screen reading, “Anyone under 18”. Additional typography appears on the right side of the screen reading, “Residents who are not Canadian Citizens” beside a Canadian maple leaf icon. This text animates upwards, leaving the frame blank. An icon of a man and the text, “The Chief Electoral Officer of Canada” appears in the middle of the screen.
The scene swipes outwards, and on the new blank screen there are two circles in the frame, each filled with many icons of people, representing the population of Canada. Under the first circle, there is a label reading, “1867” to represent the population at that time. A small percentage of people is highlighted to show the small number of people who were eligible to vote at that time. Under the second circle, there is a label reading, “Today” to represent the current population. A large percentage of the people is highlighted to show the large number of people who are eligible to vote in Canada today.]
How do you think voting rights could change in the future?
[A new blank scene swipes in, and typography appears on screen reading, “How do you think voting rights could change in the future?”]
How do you think voting rights could change in the future?
[The scene swipes out to a new blank screen, and the Elections Canada logo animates in. Typography appears underneath the logo that reads, “This video has been developed by Elections Canada as part of an educational resource for secondary students.”
The logo and typography disappear. New typography appears, listing a website to visit for further information (www.electionsanddemocracy.ca) as well as two contact phone numbers, 1-800-463-6868 or 1-800-361-8935 (TTY).]